Automobile jack



- Sept. 29, 1936. 1 Y c. A. WICKLIFFE 2,056,116

AAAAAAAAAAAA CK Charzar p 29, 19365.- c. A. WICKLIFFE I v 'AUTOMOBILE JAC Filed Feb. 20, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Charles (a. Mali??? Patented Sept. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE AUTOMOBILE JACK Charles Anderson Wickliffe, United States Army, Fort Riley, Kansz, assignorof thirty per cent to Gerald-J. Nash, thirty per cent to William C. Krauss, and forty per cent to himself Application February 20, 1935, Serial No. 7,413

i 7 Claims. (cram-94) functions; first, it acts as a cotter pin or key to re- The present invention relates to improvements in automobile jacks and has for a two-fold object, first to avoid the necessity of having to get under the vehicle in order to place the jack thereunder when occasion necessitates its use, and second, to

eliminate the manual operation of the jack in order to raise the wheel off the ground.

Another object of the .invention is to secure the elevation of the wheel above the ground by means of the rotation of the wheel either by the motive power of the car or by the force of gravity. 7

A still further object of the invention resides in providing an improved jack of asimple mechanical form of construction applicable to the hub and felloe of the wheel which is designed for easy placement in an initial potential position in readiness to elevate the wheel when such wheel shall be rotated through a small angular distance.

With the foregoingand otherv objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto. I

In the drawings, whereinlike symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of awheelshowing the application thereto in initial potential position of an auto-mobile jack constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side view showing the wheel in elevated position supported by the jack.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a similar View showinga modified form of leg or shaft. r

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cam and cradle and V Figure 6 is a similar view of a modifiedform of cam.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 6 designates a base or foot having a toe I and a heel 8. From the foot 6 rises a shaft or leg. 9.

As shown in Figures 3- ;and 4, the leg carries a head I0, which head is offsetto one side of the leg 9 and at its outer portionyrernote from the leg 9, it supports an arc-shaped cradlez ll of a form to fit the brake drum I2 of thewheel Id of the automobile or other vehicle.wFrorn the side of thehead II] remote from the leg 9, which side of the head we will call the outer side,,e ;tends;a stud I4 upon which is pivotally mounted a cam l5. The end of the stud I4 projects outwardly beyond the cam I5 and is perforated diametrically or otherwise to receive therethrough one end of a wire or spring member Hi. This spring member I6 subserves two movably retain the cam or dog I5 upon the stud I4, and in the second place, the outer'free end of this spring I6 is bent toward and slightly into the plane of rotation of the cam I5 so as to exert a resilient yieldable pressure upon the cam I5 to the end of retaining this cam in any angular position to which it may be set, it'being understood that the cam I5 is loosely mounted over the stud I4 and may be rotated around the stud freely except insofar as resilient restraint upon the cam is made by this spring member IS. The spring member I6 will therefore hold the cam l5 in any desired position, for instance, in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, while placing the jack in the position indicated in Figure 1 just prior to the elevation of the wheel l3.from the ground.

In operation, the device is initially placedin the position shown in Figure 1 with the arcshaped cradle I I in contact with the brake drum I2 of the wheel I 3 which it is desired to raise. The toe "I is placed in contact with the ground forwardly in respect to the direction in which the wheel is to be turned and, moved in the" act'of jacking-up the same. In this position the shaft or leg 9 will be at an angle with the vertical and the foot 5 will be at an angle with the horizontal. The heel 8 will be out of contact with the ground; The pressure of the spring member I 6 will hold the cam I5 in the dotted'line position shown in Figure 1 while the device is being placed. :The pressure of the spring member I6 is thereupon released permitting the cam I5 to rotate on the stud I4 by the action of gravity or by the conscious act of the operator. It will of course not be'necessary to pry the spring mem- .ber I6 away from the cam but the operator may forcibly rotate the cam I5 about the stud, which stud will be non-"rotatable and therefore the spring will remain in the position shown in Figure 2, its outer end having slipped offthe cam I5. By either the action of gravity or by the conscious forceful action of the operator, the cam surface of the dog I5 is brought into contact with the. felloe ll of the wheel I3. Preferably the cam surface is toothed as indicated at I8with the teeth being inclined in the direction shown whereby clock-wise rotation of the wheel I3, such as when the automobile is being driven in a forward direction to' the right as viewed in Figures 1 and 2, will cause the wheel I3 to so react upon the inclined teeth I8 as to tend to rotate the cam I5 in a clockwise direction also; thereby binding the cam tightly upon the felloe and causing 2.

reaction radially inward, which results in the cradle II more forcibly engaging the hub l2.

Motive power is then applied to the vehicle, causing the wheel l3 to which the jack has been affixed to turn. This turning action causes the cam l5 to rotate slightly due to the grip of the teeth l8 on the felloe ll of the wheel and thereby camming the arc cradle ll tightly against the brake drum or hub 12 and thus locking the device to the wheel. be applied to the vehicle until the wheel l3 with the device locked to it has turned a sufiicient angular distance, for instance, from the position shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Figure 2, as to bring the shaft or leg 9 to vertical position under the axle of the wheel, at which time the foot 6 will rest flat on the ground and the tire of the wheel l3 will be raised from contact with the ground. The tire or wheel may now be removed from the hub.

To lower the vehicle to the ground, motive power is again applied but this time in the opposite direction to that employed to raise the wheel, and when the wheel has turned a suflicient distance to bring it into firm contact with the ground the device may be removed.

As shown more particularly in Figure 3, the leg may be made in two sections, an upper section 9 and a lower section 9 with series of perforations I9 and 20 therein adapted to overlap in various relations whereby to change the elevation of the head ID to accommodate the device to various types and styles of vehicles. Bolts 2| pass through registering perforations in order to hold the sections in the adjusted position.

Referring more particularly to Figure 6, a modified form of cam device l5 is illustrated lacking the teeth but instead being provided with a rubber shoe or friction lining 22 which will frictionally grip the felloe of the wheel. The leg or shaft 9 may be attached at right angles to the base or foot 6, or these parts may be made to assume a desired relation. An angular relation of is to be preferred as this shifts the downward thrust near the center of the foot of the jack and causes the weight of the car to drop beyond dead center upon coming to rest upon the jack and this assures greater stability. This angle of 85 is with reference to the inclination of the leg 9 toward the heel 8 as shown in Figure 2.

Although in Figure l the jack is shown'as occupying an initial position to the right which has been described as a forward position with respect to the front of the automobile or with respect to the direction of forward movement of the vehicle, nevertheless the device will work equally well if the jack is tilted to the rear on the heel 8, whereupon by rearward movement of the car the jack may be made to arrive at the position shown in Figure 2 thus elevating the wheel 13 from the ground.

On vehicles where there is an external brake band, which naturally does not rotate with the wheel, and on vehicles where the drum does not rotate with the wheel, or in any case where applying power in the direction opposite to that in raising the car does not cause the car to move off of the jack, the cam is removed from the stud and replaced thereon with the tail of the cam Motive power is continued to pointing in the opposite direction to the first position and after it is contacted with the felloe, power is applied in the appropriate direction.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do not mean to limit the invention to such details except as particularly pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A jack for vehicle wheels, having felloes and brake drums, comprising a supporting member including a foot, leg and cradle for fitting the brake drum, and a pivoted cam on the member for engaging the felloe and on rotation of the wheel to lock the jack thereto to tighten said cradle against the brake drum and lock the jack to the wheel.

2. A jack for vehicle wheels, having felloes'and brake drums, comprising a supporting member having a ground-engaging part and a brakedrum-engaging part, and a cam pivoted loosely at the side of the supporting member within the perimeter of the wheel and positioned to engage the felloe and on rotation of the wheel in one direction lock the supporting member to the wheel.

3. A jack for vehicle wheels, having felloes and brake drums, comprising a supporting member for engaging the ground at one end and the brake drum at the other end, a stud projecting forwardly from the side of the supporting member, a cam loosely pivoted on said stud, within the perimeter of the wheel, and positioned to engage the felloe and increasingly bind upon the felloe as the wheel is rotated in one direction, and resilient means on the supporting member to en'- gage the cam whereby to hold it out of contact with the felloe.

4. A vehicle jack comprising a ground engaging portion, a brake drum engaging portion, an eccentric cam member adapted to engage the felloe of the wheel and on rotation thereof to tighten the brake drum engaging portion against the brake drum and lock the jackto the wheel, and means for releasably holding said cam in inoperative position.

5. A vehicle jack comprising a ground engaging portion, and means carried by said portion for engaging concentric opposed surfaces of a wheel, said means acting against said surfaces on rotation of the wheel to bind the jack to the wheel.

6. A vehicle jack comprising a ground engaging portion, and means carried by said portion for engagement with two opposed surfaces of a wheel, said means adapted to react in opposite directions on rotation of the wheel to bind the jack to the wheel.

'7. A vehicle jack comprising a ground engaging portion, a brake drum engaging portion, and means engaging the felloe and adapted to react against the felloe and against said brake drum when the wheel is rotated to lock the jack to the wheel at the brake drum engaging portion and at the felloe engaging means.

CHARLES ANDERSON WICKLIFFE. 

